Uganda's radio closures uncover lack of independence

Ugandan police have shuttered 13 broadcasters
since December, accusing them of misusing power supplies and equipment
belonging to the state-run Uganda
Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). The widespread allegations of corrupt deals
between the state broadcaster and ostensibly private stations reveal more than
illicit transactions--they expose a lack of independence within Uganda's
broadcast sector.

More station closures are expected. "So far they have
investigated central and western Uganda," Emmanuel Gyezaho, investigative
reporter for the independent Daily Monitor, told me, "but more are
to come as police investigators head east."

Police spokesperson Asuman Mugenyi said the state has lost
vast amounts - estimated at millions of shillings -- in revenue from clients
cutting corners and colluding with UBC staff.

The scandal began last month after former Minister for
Presidency Kabakumba
Masiko bowed to parliamentary pressure and resigned
after her private radio station, Kings FM, was found to have been illegally
using state broadcaster equipment. Although Masiko was accused of abuse of
office, the station has since been restored to the airwaves, according to local
reports. It's not clear why the allegations against Masiko suddenly came to
light, but local journalists have speculated that political wrangling within
the ruling party played a role.

The Kings FM scandal evolved into a wider case as the
Anti-Corruption Court charged former UBC top brass with abuse of office and
investigations were launched into misuse of state property. The abject misuse
of office is revealing. For instance, former UBC Board Chairman Chris Katuramu
is accused of stealing a UBC mast last year and moving it to another location
in Kilembe, where he was constructing a mast for Voice of Toro radio, according
to local
reports. Police recovered the mast but Katuramu picked it up again and
moved it back to Kilembe. The government suspended the former UBC board last
year.

Parliament is also questioning
current UBC Managing Director Paul Kihiika over how 10 stations disconnected
this month failed to pay electricity bills and how they were illegally connected
to the UBC mast in the capital's suburb, Kololo.

Some of the 10 include local broadcasters Radio Bilali,
Radio Rutu, Radio Buddu, Voice of Africa, Greater African Radio, Top Radio,
BFM, Better FM and WBS TV. But major international broadcasters such as the
BBC, Radio France-Internationale (RFI) and Kenya's Citizen TV were also
shuttered. The BBC allegedly owes around 2.4 billion Ugandan Shillings (US$1
million) in unpaid dues, according to local
reports.

BBC Corporate Communications Manager Pete Connors told me the
BBC has adhered to the terms of its contract with UBC and is looking into the
causes of the closure. Similarly, RFI sent a team from France last week to
Uganda to investigate the claims by the UBC, RFI correspondent Tonny Singoro
told me. The outcome of the investigations is pending. Citizen TV declined to
comment on the matter.

"The UBC issue is complex," said Stephen Ouma,
secretary-general of the Uganda
Journalist Union. "It's a mixture of UBC officials entering dubious
arrangements with certain radio stations to hire the state's transmitters and
masts but the proceeds are pocketed. Then there are official agreements signed
with leading companies like the BBC where money has always been paid directly
from London to UBC but payments cannot be traced because top officials embezzle
the money."

Pinpointing blame may be difficult, but it's clear many
stations have managed to evade basic costs for years, local journalists told
me. And this collusion managed to thrive due to close links many broadcasters
have with the ruling party. Many leading ruling-party politicians and
supporters of the party own radio stations all over the country, according to a
2010 study by the Kampala-based Africa
Centre for Media Excellence (ACME), a media think-tank and training center.

Investigations have reportedly implicated 35 ministers in
suspected abuse of UBC resources, the Daily
Monitorreported.
"We need to start questioning the high number of private stations we have in
this country," Gyezaho told me. "How do these stations get registered? How do
they fund themselves? Many of these stations are owned by ruling party members
-especially upcountry." (The ruling party often relies on rural, upcountry
votes during elections.) The situation has gotten so tense that some
politicians are actively distancing themselves from any links to the UBC. Last
week, Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa publicly announced that his station,
Mbabule FM, does not owe UBC anything and uses its own mast and equipment, the Monitorreported.

"Many take advantage of the UBC by having connections with
the government," ACME General Secretary and media consultant Bernard
Tabaire told me. "In the past, there was this idea that if you are part of
government you could use the UBC."

As of December 2010, Uganda had at least 200 broadcasters
operating, according to the ACME study - an impressive figure for a country
roughly twice
the size of the state of Pennsylvania. But how much do these stations
reflect the voices of the people as opposed to the voices of politicians? The UBC investigation has erased the veneer
of a robust private broadcast sector in Uganda.

Tom Rhodes is CPJ's East Africa representative, based in Nairobi. Rhodes is a founder of southern Sudan’s first independent newspaper. Follow him on Twitter: @africamedia_CPJ

Comments

Owning a radio station has become a necessity for any politician these days in Uganda. Those politicians and businessmen who support the government probably use the national broadcasters equipment with the government's acquiescence. However, opposition politicians have a hard time even getting a license.
My thoughts on the subject were captured here http://jaystateofmind.blogspot.com/2012/01/dirty-politics-of-radio-ownership-in.html

i will comment on UBC sager. When we singed the first agreement with the then Ps musoke in the presidents office we were told that we are paying for everything including power. But because the corporation has changed so many hands since its formation its hard to know how we stated.
I think it would have been better if the MD UBC called the owners he thought were using the UBC people to come and they sort the mess out. But not just to wake up one morning and you shut down peoples stations I think that was wrong.this world is very small we will meet again some where how will you look at me.